Cook County adopted a Tree Master Plan in 2024 directing canopy investment to south and west suburbs where coverage falls below 15 percent. The plan funds municipal partnerships, native-species plantings, and equity-weighted grants under the Department of Environment and Sustainability.
The Cook County Tree Master Plan, developed with the Chicago Region Trees Initiative and Morton Arboretum, mapped canopy coverage across 130 suburbs and unincorporated areas. South Cook municipalities including Harvey, Robbins, and Ford Heights show coverage as low as 7 percent versus 35-plus percent in northern suburbs like Glenview and Wilmette. The plan directs Cook County Forestry funds, IDOT urban forestry grants, and Sustain Cook County dollars toward priority equity tracts. Plantings emphasize native oaks, hickories, and tulip poplar over short-lived species. The Forest Preserves Conservation Foundation supplements plantings on private parcels through the South Suburban Climate Equity Initiative.
The plan is a policy framework, not a regulatory ordinance, so it imposes no resident fines. Municipalities receiving grants must meet planting and maintenance benchmarks or face clawback of remaining grant disbursements.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines City Code 6-2-7(E) applies its dBA limits to vehicles and equipment on the public right of way (excessive at 65 dBA daytime / 50 dBA quiet hours ...
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines City Code 6-2-7(D) makes it unlawful to make or continue any sound determined to be excessive. Outside quiet hours, 6-2-7(E)(5) sets the threshol...
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines City Code 6-2-7(F) makes it unlawful to operate any sound-production or amplification device whose sound crosses a property line and raises total...
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines City Code Section 7-3-8 prohibits parking on designated streets during declared snow removal operations so that plows can clear the roadway; viol...
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines requires fences and the full lot to be properly maintained, including portions of a lot where a fence is not on the property line, and limits fen...
Des Plaines, IL
Des Plaines prohibits barbed-wire and electrically charged fences in residential areas; they are allowed only in nonresidential districts where the Zoning Ad...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Cook County.
See how Des Plaines's urban forest equity rules stack up against other locations.
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